The Delhi Police鈥檚 Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) has busted a cyber fraud racket that duped foreign nationals鈥攎ostly from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada鈥攂y exploiting airline refund systems through forged documents, including fake death certificates.
The key accused, identified as Akshay Sharma, has been arrested, and several digital devices and documents were seized during the raid conducted on June 24.
AVS Holidays, a Delhi-based travel agency in Kirti Nagar, allegedly ran the scam, posing as a legitimate business while exploiting airline refund systems.
The police said that the accused used digital marketing tools, including search engine optimisation (SEO), social media promotions, and online advertising, to push fraudulent flight booking and cancellation services higher in search results.
鈥淭hese advertisements were strategically designed to appear above legitimate service providers on search results,鈥 police said in a press release cited by ANI.
The scammers would lure people in through fake ads, then collect their financial details, such as card numbers and CVVs, by pretending to assist with bookings.
After booking tickets in the victims鈥 names, the syndicate would cancel them without their knowledge. They impersonated customers and submitted forged documents鈥攕uch as fake medical and death certificates鈥攖o airlines, claiming refunds for the full ticket amount.
The scammers either partially refunded the victims鈥 money, deducting fake cancellation fees, or didn鈥檛 refund it at all.
鈥淧reliminary forensic analysis of seized electronic devices has revealed hundreds of forged documents were used to facilitate these fraudulent claims,鈥 an official said.
During interrogation, the prime accused, Akshay Sharma, admitted to running fraudulent call centres under the guise of a travel agency for several years. 鈥淗e admitted to orchestrating a scheme that primarily targeted US and other foreign nationals by posing as an authorised flight booking agency,鈥 police said.
The accused admitted to running a well-organised operation that exploited weaknesses in airline refund systems using forged documents and manipulated communications. An FIR under multiple sections of the IT Act has been registered at the special cell police station.
Authorities are continuing to investigate and identify Sharma鈥檚 accomplices, working to uncover the full scope of the scam.
(With inputs from ANI)